Indian workers trapped in tunnel for 10 days seen on camera, given hot meals
One of the 40 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel speaks through the camera in Silkyara, Uttarakhand. AP
A camera monitored for the first time on Tuesday the 41 workers who had been trapped for 10 days in a collapsed tunnel, and showed that they were all alive, as rescue workers continued trying to build a new way out.
The trapped workers appeared exhausted and anxious, according to footage broadcast by a small camera that was lowered through a narrow tube through which air, food, and water were provided to them.
Rescue workers told their stranded colleagues, “We will get you out to safety, don’t worry.”
The stranded workers, wearing protective helmets on their heads, circled around the camera, according to footage distributed by the Indian authorities.
Before this camera was lowered, communication between rescue workers and the besieged people took place exclusively through radios.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "All the workers are fine. We are working with all our might to get them out safely soon."
Rescue workers are seeking to build a new road to extract the trapped workers, after drilling work was suspended for fear of new collapses, according to the authorities.
Workers are seeking to remove rubble from a road tunnel under construction in the state of Uttarakhand, north of the Himalayas, after part of it that the workers were building collapsed.
However, the work of shoveling tonnes of soil and rocks to reach the workers was suspended at the end of the week after a large crack occurred the previous day, raising fears that the roof might collapse.
Engineers are trying to insert a cylindrical steel pipe about 90 centimeters wide into the rubble, enough for the trapped men to pass through.
Rescuers used radio devices to communicate with the stranded workers, and food, water, oxygen and medicine were administered to them through a 15-centimetre-wide tube.
Indian media reported that the workers were stuck in a place of 400 square metres.
